The Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe!

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Cooking With Anadi

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Buttery and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

The holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without seeing a giant bowl of mashed potatoes, waiting to be devoured.

When I came to Canada, I was in awe of perfect mashed potatoes that were served at family gatherings. The fluff, the butter, the creaminess. Me being me, as much as I appreciate others cooking for me, I can’t wait for the holidays to roll around to be served mashed potatoes. I gotta make these bad boys for myself, and for no particular occasion! When I want to eat something, I go ahead and make it!

To me, a perfect homemade mashed potato is what completes a comforting meal. I’ve loved potatoes all my life - in fact, as a kid, that’s one of the only things I’d eat - so I take my mashed potatoes seriously. It’s taken me quite a bit of experimenting to figure out how to make the best mashed potatoes to share with you, but when I made this particular batch, I knew this recipe came to me straight from heaven! Now it’s time for you to make them and enjoy!

Tools Needed

• Cutting board
• Paring knife
• Pot
• Fork
• Instant pot
• Large bowl
• Kitchenaid
• Whisk
• Spatula

How to Make Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Boiling the Potatoes

Before boiling your potatoes using either method, be sure to thoroughly rinse your potatoes to remove any dirt.

On the Stove Top

In a pot or saucepan, add enough water to fit the potatoes. Bring the water up to a boil and season with salt.

Add the potatoes and lower heat to medium. Boil potatoes uncovered for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.

To check if the potatoes are cooked, insert a fork or knife through the thickest part of the potato. If it inserts easily, the potatoes are cooked.

Instant Pot

Insert the trivet in the Instant Pot and place the potatoes on the trivet. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water over the potatoes.

Close the Instant Pot and ensure the Instant Pot is in Sealing mode. Select the Steam setting and cook for 12 minutes, allowing for the pressure to release naturally.

Once the pressure has released, remove the lid. Insert a fork to check if the potatoes are completely cooked.

To Prepare the Mashed Potatoes

Once the potatoes have finished cooking, peel them and add them to a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. I’ll be using a stand mixer.

Lightly mash the potatoes and add the butter and start the mixer at the lowest speed. Start pouring the cream to the bowl and keep mixing on the lowest speed (if using a hand mixer or a large whisk, start whisking as you pour the butter) until potatoes are creamy and smooth.

Once the potatoes have reached a creamy consistency, season with salt and pepper and continue whisking at medium speed. This will help incorporate some air and make them fluffier.

How Can You Enhance Mashed Potatoes?

There are a lot of ways to make mashed potatoes even better. My favorite toppings include:

• Cajun Mashed Potatoes a simple variation with my Amazing Homemade Cajun Seasoning.
• Loaded Mashed Potatoes Bacon bits with all the works, old cheddar cheese or Parmesan, bacon bits and lots of chives.
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with a slow roasted head of garlic, roughly chopped and mixed with the butter and cream.

Yukon Gold, Russet or Red: Which Potatoes Make the Creamiest Mash

This recipe is built on Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes, and that choice is doing more work than it looks. Yellow potatoes sit in the middle of the starch range, so they mash into something dense and buttery that still tastes like potato. Look for firm ones with no bruises, no bumps and a good yellow color.

Russet potatoes, sold as Idaho potatoes in a lot of stores, are the higher starch option. They give you a fluffier, lighter mash, but a noticeably less creamy one, so be a little more generous with the butter and cream. Red potatoes go the other way. They are waxy, they hold their shape, and they give you a chunkier, more rustic result rather than a smooth one. Sweet potatoes are a different dish entirely and do not behave like any of these.

Straight Into Boiling Salted Water, Skins On

Plenty of mashed potato recipes tell you to peel and cube the potatoes and start them in cold water. This one does not. On the stove top I bring a large pot of water to a boil first, season the water with salt, then add the potatoes whole and unpeeled. Lower the heat to medium and boil them uncovered for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how big they are.

There is no draining and drying step here, because the skins stay on until the potatoes are cooked. That is also the main thing protecting the texture. Boiling for too long waterlogs the potato and leaves you with a watery mash that no amount of butter will fix. Start checking at the 15 minute mark and keep checking every 2 to 3 minutes after that. Slide a fork or a knife through the thickest part, and if it goes in easily they are done. As a rough guide, 250 g potatoes need another 2 to 3 minutes, and 300 to 350 g potatoes need another 4 to 6.

The Instant Pot version skips the pot of water almost entirely. The potatoes sit on the trivet, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water goes over them, the lid goes on in Sealing mode, and the Steam setting runs for 12 minutes with a natural pressure release. Peel them once they are cool enough to handle.

Stand Mixer, Masher or Ricer, and the One Tool to Keep Away

I use a stand mixer for this, a KitchenAid, and the speed matters more than the machine does. Lightly mash the peeled potatoes first, add the room temperature butter, and start the mixer on its lowest speed. Pour the cream in slowly while it runs. Only once everything is creamy and smooth do I season with salt and black pepper and take it up to medium speed, which whips a little air in and makes it fluffier.

An electric mixer held in your hand, or a large whisk, does the same job. A potato masher or hand masher gives you a chunkier, more rustic consistency and a bit of elbow grease. A potato ricer is the traditional route to the smoothest texture there is. The one thing I would keep well away from mashed potatoes is a food processor or a blender, because the blades tear the starches apart and turn a good mash into glue in seconds.

Whatever you use, work while the potatoes are still hot. The butter melts into them properly that way, and the cream goes in without cooling everything down.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating Leftovers

Mashed potatoes keep well. Cool them, move them to an airtight container, and they will hold in the refrigerator for about three to four days. For longer storage, freeze them in portions and thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating is where most leftovers go wrong, and low and slow is the answer. Put them in a small saucepan over low heat with a splash of heavy cream, or about a tablespoon of milk per cup of potatoes, and stir until they loosen back up. The microwave works too, covered, in short bursts with a stir in between. A warm pot and a little extra melted butter at the end bring them most of the way back to where they started.

What to Serve With Creamy Mashed Potatoes

This is a Thanksgiving dish in my house first and foremost, sitting beside a roast turkey with plenty of gravy. It works just as well under roast chicken, or with something saucy like Salisbury steak, where the mash is really there to catch everything on the plate.